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6.28.2014

The Brush Series: Eyes

When I started doing makeup more "seriously," I didn't understand why there are more eye brushes than face brushes, but now, duh! I owned more brushes than what I share with you in this post, but most of them have been weeded out and given away, leaving me with this very few core brushes which I rely on again and again. With these brushes, I can do as many eye makeup look as I wish and I continually learn and gain ideas from other beauty bloggers out there on how to use a certain brush to achieve a certain effect. Don't you just love blogging for that?

Let's get on with it. From left to right we have:

Stila no 9 blending brushSquirrel, maybe? since it does not bleed when I wash it, bristles uncut, super soft. Somewhat dense but very fluffy, excellent for blending. I really don't feel the need to try other brushes because this performs so well for me. I've had this for years (from back when Stila was the "it" brand).

Sonia Kashuk no 13 blending brushThis one is goat -- again, maybe? since it bleed a few times during washing, not anymore, though. Still very nice and soft with uncut bristles. Definitely not as soft as the squirrel but the head is small and floppy at the same time, perfect for crease/precision blending.

MAC 217This one is the newer version, which I heard is not as good as the older ones? Good fluffy all-over wash for me, multi-purpose blending of all sort.

Hakuhodo K004A replacement of freebie Bobbi Brown eye brush that usually comes with Bobbi palette, I use this one as a lay-down brush. If you like your lay-down super pigmented (like foiling effect), this probably won't work, but it works for "everyday" lay down. The bristles are nicely packed that it picks up enough shadow and deposit almost all of them on the lid, leaving the brush clean (isn't that what a good brush supposed to do?) A few wipes on tissue paper is all it takes for me to clean this brush in between use. The head is just of perfect size of my lids.

Tom Ford Eye Shadow Contour BrushI picked up this one as a lash-line smudger to replace an old Stila no 32 that was quite scratchy. The head is dense yet tapered enough to get into the roots of the lashes to smudge pencil liners or shadows alike. I think it has other uses to it, but this is one of the brush I use daily as many of my quick eye-looks rely on lining the eyes with Pixi Endless Silky Eye pencil and smudging it upwards.

Hakuhodo "pencil" G5515BkSL and G5520BkSLThese two pencil brushes are for precision work. I use the goat/horse one for lining the lower lids and the squirrel/horse one for other detail work needing larger surface area. Both perform better than any other pencil brushes I've owned.

Hakuhodo (? can't seem to find this one)Made out of weasel, this one is to line and tight-line. It performs well with shadow or gel liner alike, I wish the fibers are a bit stiffer so it holds its shape better, esp when pushing it into the roots of the lashes.

South Texas Dental freebie toothbrushThe best brow groomer for someone who has bushy brows like me.

Eye lash curler: I am enjoying the Shiseido one at the moment because the curvature is flatter than my eyes so I can maneuver it right on the outer corner when I need curling the most. I suppose I can use that mini-Shu outer-lash only curler, but it looks like a lot of hassle. This one is an oldie as well.